LELOUP GETS JUNO NODS

Album up for two awards

Jean Leloup’s À Paradis City has been nominated for album of the year at this year’s Juno Awards, although with household names Justin Bieber, Drake and The Weeknd also vying for the honour, the ageless 54-year-old francophone rocker is a long shot to win. Leloup has better odds in the francophone album of the year category, where he’s up against fellow Quebecers Marie-Pierre Arthur, Louis-Jean Cormier, Galaxie and Ariane Moffatt.

Singer-songwriter Coeur de Pirate is Quebec’s lone entry in the Juno Fan Choice Award Category, which has gone to either Bieber or crooner Michael Bublé since 2010. The bilingual performer, real name Béatrice Martin, was also nominated for songwriter of the year for a trio of songs from her 2015 album Roses: Carry On, Crier tout bas and Oceans Brawl.

Local rock quartet Half Moon Run, set to play four sold-out shows at Metropolis in April, was nominated for breakthrough group of the year along with another Montreal act, Milk & Bone.

Celebrated filmmaker Xavier Dolan is up for video of the year for his directorial work on Adele’s Hello, shot outside Montreal. (Adele is also up for international album of the year.)

Although the world music album of the year category can seem like an incongruous lumping of musical styles, that didn’t stop Montreal based Gypsy Ku mb ia Orchestra and Boogat from each getting nominations. Two Montreal acts, Esmerine and Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld, are in the running for instrumental album of the year. Kataklysm is Montreal’s sole representative in the heavy metal album of the year category.

A pair of Montreal indie acts, Braids and Majical Cloudz, are up for alternative album of the year. Braids’s Deep in the Iris also made the most recent Polaris Music Prize shortlist, the only Montreal-based album to do so. Kaytranada’s At All and A-Trak’s We All Fall Down are Montreal’s offerings in the dance recording of the year category.

Other Montrealers include: Patrick Lehman for R&B/soul recording of the year; The Wainwright Sisters, up for traditional roots album of the year; cellist Elinor Frey for classical album: solo or chamber ensemble; Nicole Lizée and Michael Oesterle for classical composition of the year; ex-Me Mom and Morgentaler member Gus van Go and ex-Stills member Liam O’Neil for recording engineer of the year.

The city dominated the classical album of the year: large ensemble or soloist(s) with large ensemble accompaniment category, with Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal with Olivier Latry and Jean-Willy Kunz, and Paul Merkelo, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal all garnering nominations.